A Daily Struggle
by DianneRose2016
Summary: Harvey discovers that Mike has a five year old son and is struggling more than he ever knew. Harvey helps Mike fight to keep his son and to survive all the stress in his life. But will their new love survive a family court hearing and the mother's family doing everything they can to keep Mike away from his son? Will Mike be able to hold on long enough for Harvey to save the day?
1. Chapter 1

_**Full Summary: Set during the beginning of Season 2 where Grammy is still alive. Harvey discovers that Mike has a five year old son and is struggling more than he ever knew. Harvey helps Mike fight to keep his son and to survive all the stress in his life. But as Harvey grows closer and closer to Mike's son he can't help but fall in love with the little boy and his father. But will that new love survive a family court hearing and the mother's family doing everything they can to keep Mike away from his son? Will Mike be able to hold on long enough for Harvey to save the day?**_

 _ **Story Warnings: Drug use, self-harm, mentions of date rape, swearing, sexual situations and slight violence**_

 _ **Chapter Warnings: Self-harm, swearing and mentions of date rape**_

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Chapter 1

Mike was exhausted. He was beyond exhausted, but he couldn't stop, he couldn't sleep. He had a whole day of work ahead of him and he couldn't late again. Harvey was getting seriously pissed off and annoyed with him constantly being late in this past week. Mike was trying his best. He was trying to do everything he was supposed to do in the day, but some days, more often than not, there just wasn't enough hours in the day. Mike had been working hard since the moment he walked through the Pearson Hardman doors that very first day. Mike wanted to prove to everyone that he did belong there, even though he didn't have a degree like everyone else. Mike was working sixteen to eighteen hour work days, five days a week and on weekends he took files home to work on them. He was loaded down with work from Harvey and then from Louis. Louis thought it was hilarious to keep giving him more and more work. He gave him more work than any associate and Mike knew that Louis was getting some of the files from other Junior Partners. And when there was no work to be done Louis found work for Mike to go through. Usually old case files in the file room that he wanted to be reviewed, or summarized or refiled and it was always to be done before Louis came in the next morning. Mike wasn't one to shy away from work, but it was frustrating when he was spending all of these hours at work and only making a monthly salary. He was working close to a hundred hours a week and he was making what the other associates were and they were working half of the hours that he was.

If that wasn't bad enough he had to deal with the abuse from the other associates. They all seemed to hate him, because Harvey picked him over any of them. Mike was the one different person in the group something he was used to from being in school. He was used to being the freak. What no one knew though was that he had a secret himself. It wasn't really a secret, it was more something that he just hadn't told anyone. He didn't want to hear any shit about it and he didn't know how Harvey would react to the news. Mike desperately needed this job and he couldn't risk losing it. His life was beyond stressful and it was only getting worse. He was so tired that he had poured scolding hot coffee on his right hand, now it was all bandaged up and hurt like hell from the second degree burns. He had only gotten two hours of sleep by the time he got all of his work done that he had brought home with him. He was getting one hell of a cold or pneumonia, Mike wasn't sure which yet. His shitty landlord hadn't bothered to fix the heat in his apartment so it was freezing in here. His power had been shut off because he was behind on the bill again. To top it all off he had a personal court case from hell starting up all over again. A court case that would destroy him if he lost.

You see Mike was struggling with all of this and raising his gifted five year old son. Mike had been fighting in courts for the past five years to be able to keep his son. On numerous occasions his son, Jacob, had been taken from him and placed in a foster home. It wasn't anything that Mike did wrong, but because of the false accusations that the mother's family had made. It was a constant fight and it was starting up once again, usually Mike could go six months to nine months without having to deal with a problem. Those months were peaceful as far as any outside factor. Then it would start up all over again and be a year of hell for Mike and very expensive. Something Mike just couldn't afford to do anymore. He didn't know what he was going to do, because this time around it truly felt like he was going to lose his son for good this time.

Mike arrived at work twenty minutes late and he knew that Harvey was going to lay into him once again. Mike had tried to get here on time, but this week had been a hard one on Jacob. He was struggling in school for a couple of reasons. One being that he was so smart he was bored and acting up in class. The other was that he was high-functioning autistic so he didn't understand social situations. The school was not a good one and in a bad area, but it was the closest school to where they lived. The other kids would pick on Jacob and make fun of him. That would make Jacob mad and act out even more or decide he wasn't going. This would cause an argument between them in the morning making them both late. This was a bad week and Mike had no idea how he was ever going to make it through the rest of the month or the next few years going like this. Eventually something was going to break and Mike was terrified that it would be him, only it couldn't be him, because then everything would be taken from him.

Mike made his way over to Harvey's office and he saw the look of warning on Donna's face before he walked through the glass doors. Harvey looked up and Mike could instantly see the annoyance and irritation on his face.

"You better have a good reason for being late not only today, but all week Mike." Harvey snapped out.

"I'm sorry Harvey. It's just been a bad week." Mike said but before he could say anything else he started to have a coughing fit. His cough was wet and deep and Mike knew he must have some kind of chest infection. But he couldn't afford the hospital bill to get checked out or the medicine. Associates didn't have any medical coverage until they had been here for two years and earned the right to continue and move up. Mike couldn't afford a thousand dollar medical bill right now.

"Are you sick? You better not be contagious I have court hearings that I can't miss and I'm not showing up sick for." Harvey instantly said.

"I'm fine." Mike said with hoarse voice once he got his coughing under control.

"Just take those files and get the hell out of my office. And if you are late tomorrow Mike so help me God I will hand you over to Louis for a month." Harvey threatened.

Mike didn't say anything, because he knew that Harvey would never listen to him anyways. He just went and grabbed the stack of files before he turned and headed out. Harvey didn't even notice the bandage around Mike's hand, but Donna certainly did. Once Mike was gone Donna got up and went into the office.

"You could have at least asked if he was okay." Donna said.

"And why would I do that?" Harvey asked slightly annoyed at being interrupted.

"Because he was clearly exhausted, sick and had his right hand wrapped in a bandage." Donna stated knowing that Harvey had missed the bandaged hand.

"None of which are my concern." Harvey said trying to figure out how he missed Mike's injured hand and was wondering if maybe something had happened.

"You and I both know you care otherwise he would have been fired a long time ago. You have an interest in him. You care about him and you know it. Would it really be so bad if you actually showed it every once and a while with him? He is trying his best and all he wants is to make you proud you know."

Harvey let out a sigh before he spoke. "I know he does and he has. But I'm also his boss. I can't let everyone think that it's alright for him to show up constantly late, even if he does find loopholes that no one else could. I have a reputation to upkeep and expectations. I can't just keep making excuses or exceptions for him. There's no reason why he can't get here on time." Harvey said.

"I know, but it's Mike. He remembers everything, but he loses his phone almost every day. You know how his mind gets so focused on other things that he blanks on normal everyday things. Plus he bikes here and it's winter. I'm not saying you have to let him do what he wants, but maybe just check in with him at some point today and make sure that he is alright. You know show you care, even if it's outside of these walls." Donna said with a smile as she turned to head back to her desk.

Harvey looked at Donna for a second before he went back to work. He knew that Mike was working hard and that he was biking to work. Still though that didn't mean he could get away with being late this week. It was winter, the kid should have been taking a cab to work. He was making more than enough to afford it. It was just stupid to be biking in this weather, that's how he probably got sick in the first place. Harvey knew that Mike was his responsibility and that he would need to talk to him about taking proper care of himself, but that could wait until tonight after work. He wasn't about to have some personal conversation with him at work. This was work and at work they needed to work and save anything personal for after work.

Mike headed to his desk with all of the files that Harvey wanted him to go through. When he got to his desk he saw that there was a stack of thirty other files from Louis with a note stating that they needed to be completed before he left for the night. Mike sat down and let out a sigh. He would be lucky if he got out of here by midnight. Thankfully it was Friday and his sixteen year old babysitter would be able to stay with Jacob. Unfortunately Jacob was going to be there tonight in the apartment without heat and now electricity. So their plug in heater wouldn't be working just like his fridge and stove weren't. Mike didn't have much in the fridge so thankfully he didn't have to worry about the food going bad. He didn't have the chance to go to the store yet to get some more food. Realistically right now Mike could only afford a small amount of food, just enough for Jacob. He had to go to the food bank this weekend to get some more food that would take them through the week and make sure that Jacob ate three times a day like he needed. Mike on the other hand would be lucky if he could eat one meal a day. Mike was used to going a couple of days without eating though and at least at work he could order some dinner when he was here and charge it to the firm. Though, Louis was in charge of all of that and he had told Mike that he could only charge food to the firm twice a week and not every day. It wasn't the firm's job to feed him according to Louis. So Mike had held off on using his two times until the days when he truly needed it. He found himself doing it Friday nights and he would make sure that there was left overs to take home for Jacob on Saturday to eat.

Mike had been hoping that with this job he would have a more stable life for Jacob. That he could move into a good apartment and put Jacob in a decent school. He had tried to find a scholarship for him, but the few private schools that had them turned him away. Apparently, Mike and Jacob weren't good enough for their scholarships and so they went to other kids that didn't really need it, but their parents paid a hefty donation to the school. Less than the annual tuition, but enough to catch the Board's attention. Each day Mike was feeling more and more like a failure and a terrible father. Mike had been focusing on his work when his computer beeped signalling he had a message. Mike opened it and wasn't surprised that it was another instant message from one of the associates. The past six months had gotten even worse with the bullying. They had started a Facebook page all directed towards hating him and why they hate him. The emails and Instant Messages came next all with hate mail.

At first it started off with them telling him he didn't belong. It moved from there to comics of him being fired. Recently it took a different turn to pictures of him performing sexual acts on Harvey and the other Senior Partners. The messages and emails were endless all day and every time there was a post on the Facebook page he was tagged and it went straight to him. Sometimes at night and on the weekends his phone would ring none stop and no one would be on the other end. Mike would turn his phone off when he could, but with work he couldn't always just leave it off in case Harvey or a client needed something. Sometimes the hate would branch off to them saying that his parents died because they couldn't stand to see his face anymore or put up with him. Mike knew that they were just trying to get him to quit, but it still hurt. The words still hurt and they were indented into his brain none the less. Normally Mike could handle it, but today he just couldn't. The words were hurting too much today because of everything he was going through. He couldn't help, but feel like he was completely alone and no one cared about him or what happened to him. He knew his Grammy cared, but he couldn't tell her what was going on. He couldn't put her through all that guilt. Mike was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders and the weight was getting so heavy he didn't know if he could do it any longer.

Mike looked at the message and read it.

 _You're a worthless piece of shit. No one likes you or wants you here. So do everyone a favor and go kill yourself. You are a failure at everything. That's why your parents would rather have died than to look at you for another second. Even your own grandmother is wishing for the day you finally die and she can be free from you. You are a disgusting freak and a disgrace to their whole firm. Hurry up and die already so we don't have to keep looking at you._

Mike knew it was just harsh words said out of jealousy. Normally he could take it, he could handle it. He was able to get his mind to understand that the words were out of petty jealousy and nothing more. That he could ignore it and move on with his day as if nothing happened, but today he just couldn't do it. Today it was just one more thing to push him closer to the edge and he was so deadly close to it as it is. Mike could feel his body shaking slightly and he knew he needed to get out of here before someone else took notice. Mike grabbed his bag and headed out of the bullpen and into one of the bathrooms. He made sure it was empty before he locked the door. He went over to the wall and slid down it. He pulled his legs up to his chest and he tried to get his mind to focus on something else, something more positive other than the harsh reality of his life right now. He did what he always did and he thought about Jacob, but even that today was turning into pain. Jacob being cold in the apartment, Jacob going without food. Jacob not being able to go on a class field trip, being the only kid not able to go. Jacob not being able to get the new clothes that he desperately needed. Jacob having to wear second hand store clothes and being laughed and picked on at school. Jacob coming home with a bruise because he was being bullied. All of the things that Mike failed at when it came to being a father.

Mike felt like he couldn't breathe. The images that were flooding his mind was making it unbearable. He needed to do something to calm down and relax his mind long enough that he could focus on work and get through the day. Mike reached into his bag and decided to do something that he hadn't done since he was fourteen. He grabbed a hold of the pocket knife that he kept in his bag just in case something happened on his journey home. He pulled out the small pocket knife and he opened it. He took off his suit jacket and rolled up his left sleeve. It had been an old practice but Mike could still remember it perfectly. He placed the knife on his left wrist and with a slow deep breath in he pushed the blade into his skin and slid it across. Mike slowly let his breath out as he saw the blood instantly appear. As one cut had never been enough for him Mike repeated the process five more times, each one getting deeper than the next. After that sixth time Mike felt like he could breathe and think. He closed his eyes and just let the feeling take over him before he would have to compose himself and get back to work. He knew he couldn't be here for much longer as that would attract too much unwanted attention. So with one last moment of peace Mike went into his bag and pulled out some extra bandages that he brought for his hand just in case they got dirty or fell off from working. Mike got up and went over to the sink and with practiced hands he washed off the blade and his wrist with cold water to stop the blood flow. Once he was confident that the blood flow was almost finished he dried off his wrist very carefully and the knife. He put the knife back into his bag and he proceeded to wrap the white bandages around his wrist and used the tap to hold it together. He put the remaining bandage into his bag along with the tap and he put his shirt back down. The long sleeve covered everything perfectly and his suit jacket would give him extra protection from the day. With everything back in place Mike put his suit jacket on and headed out of the bathroom. He headed straight back to his desk and sat down. He put in his headphones and listened to some soothing music and just focused on the file in front of him.

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It wasn't until one in the morning did Mike finally finish his last file for the day. He had worked straight through lunch and dinner. Not even bothering to stop for more than a couple of minutes to go to the washroom and grab some coffee. He knew he should be eating, but he just couldn't bring himself to care enough to. Mike had ignored everyone all day today, even Rachel when she came over to see how he was doing. He just kept his head down and continued to work. Now it was just after one and he had finally finished all of the files he had on his desk from this morning. His right hand was hurting from the second degree burn that covered it. He had taken a few pills throughout the day to help, but unfortunately with second degree burns nothing would help to stop the pain until the next day. His left wrist was throbbing slightly as well, but Mike found that to be a comforting pain.

With all of his work done Mike got up and grabbed his bag and headed out for the weekend. Mike didn't even notice the security guard watching him and sending a text message to someone. Mike went over to his bike and did his best to ignore the freezing winds that hit him. He got onto his bike and made the thirty minute journey to his apartment. Once there Mike headed inside just looking to hide from the cold and get warmed up, but that thought was quickly diminished when his exhausted brain remembered that he had no heat in the place. Mike brought his bike up the stairs and headed into his apartment. He put his bike down where it belonged and saw the babysitter getting up from the couch. She was rubbing at her eyes as she whispered.

"Hey Mike. He's been asleep since ten. The school wanted you to know he got into another fight. Well two kids went after him. He's got a black eye, he was pretty upset but he was adamant about not calling you. I put some ice on it, but he'll have a shiner for a good week. The two kids both denied that it was them and the other students weren't giving their friends up. So the Principal didn't do anything. You really gotta find him another school." Becky the punk out babysitter said as she grabbed her bag.

"Thanks for letting me know and for staying late. Is someone picking you up?" Mike asked knowing it was a bad area for a young girl to be walking around in.

"Ya my boyfriend is waiting for me downstairs. See you Monday."

"Thanks again Becky." Mike said sincerely as he didn't know what he would do without her. She was so cheap it was unbelievable.

Becky headed out of the apartment and Mike locked the door behind her. Mike then put his bag down and went over to the single bed in the room. The apartment wasn't much. It was a single studio apartment with a separate bathroom. The bathroom was run down and there was mold in the shower stall. There was no bathtub and at first getting Jacob used to having to shower at a young age was hard. There were holes in the ceiling so snow and water would leak in. The windows didn't lock and there was a horrible draft in the winter. The heat was always acting up and often didn't work. The pipes would freeze in the winter as well. The floors had weak spots in them so you had to watch where you stepped and where you put the heavier furniture. They didn't have a TV anymore as Mike had to sell it for some food money. They didn't have Internet or even a computer right now. Their furniture was all second hand and it was falling apart including the sad bed. Mike had tried his best, but there was only so much he could afford. Jacob slept in the bed while Mike would sleep on the couch. It was not comfortable, but Jacob deserved to have a bed and Mike was willing to do anything for him.

Mike went over and looked down at Jacob and felt his heart breaking. His son already had a black eye coming through. He was under three blankets and asleep in a long sleeved sweat shirt and pants with gloves on just so he would stay warm and not get sick. All of this because Mike couldn't afford to provide him the life that he deserved and needed. Yet even though he knew that he couldn't bring himself to let Jacob go to some other place where he could have everything he ever wanted. He couldn't stand the thought of losing him. Mike's thoughts were interrupted by a knock at his door. Mike went over and instantly figured that it was Becky. She must have forgotten one of her textbooks. Mike went over and opened the door. He was shocked to see that it was Harvey standing on the other side of it.

Harvey had been worried about Mike all day. He had seen the way Mike was working today with his headphones in and ignored everyone else in the world. Mike only did that when he was upset about something. So Harvey had left him alone and let him work it out himself. He decided he would wait to speak to him when he was finished. Only when nine o'clock rolled around and Mike was still at it Harvey had no choice, but to leave. He made sure the security guard, Doug, texted him when Mike left. Harvey was able to get Mike's address from the files and when he got the text he came over here to speak with Mike. Harvey had to say he was shocked at the area Mike lived in. He knew that Mike was paying for his Grandmother, but he didn't think he would be living in a place like this. The whole building looked like it should be condemned. Yet here Mike was living here.

"Harvey, what are you doing here?" Mike whispered so he wouldn't wake Jacob up.

"I need to talk to you." Harvey easily said.

"And this couldn't have waited until Monday?" Mike asked he really didn't want Harvey here.

"No it couldn't. Now are you going to let me in?" Harvey said lightly, but with enough strength to let Mike know that he wasn't going to be going away easily.

"No, I'm not alone." Mike said hoping that Harvey would get the idea and leave.

"Perfect you can introduce me to her." Harvey said as he pushed passed Mike and into the freezing apartment.

There were two things that Harvey instantly noticed. First how cold it was in the apartment and the second were the bins of child toys in the room. Harvey turned his head to the bed and he walked further into the room. He could hear Mike closing the door and speaking, but Harvey's mind didn't register the words. All he could see was the little boy sleeping under a pile of blankets. Harvey turned to see Mike was panicking and Harvey knew that this was Mike's kid, that Mike had a son. A son that he didn't tell Harvey about. Harvey instantly felt betrayed, hurt, angry and confused all at the same time. He turned to look at Mike and he could see the fear in Mike's eyes. Fear of how Harvey would react and Harvey knew that in this very second his whole future friendship with Mike depended on how he reacted in this very moment. Harvey closed his eyes for a second and let out a breath. Once he was confident that he could talk properly he opened his eyes and turned to Mike.

"Cute kid." Harvey said with a gentle smile.

Mike let out a shaky breath before he spoke.

"I'm sorry Harvey. I know I should have told you." Mike whispered.

Harvey moved over to the small kitchen on the opposite side of the apartment. Mike went over there with him and Harvey whispered so he wouldn't wake up Mike's son.

"What's his name?"

"Jacob. He's five." Mike whispered back.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Harvey couldn't help, but ask.

"I wanted to, but I just didn't know how you would take it. No one in that place has young kids. Most don't even have kids and are on their second or third marriage. I was afraid you would see it as a burden or a weakness and fire me. And I can't lose this job Harvey. I can't." Mike said with worry in his voice.

"Mike I wouldn't fire you for having a kid. I wish you would have told me I would have understood." Harvey said as he tried to keep the hurt from his voice.

"I'm sorry I should have told you. I just couldn't lose this job and a lot of people don't want to hire someone with a kid. They see it as a burden." Mike said with a slight hurt tone in his voice.

"Mike, I have a niece and nephew. I've been around kids I get it. What I don't get is this place. Why the hell are you living here with a kid? He shouldn't be here." Harvey asked calmly, but Mike took it completely the wrong way after the day he had.

"You think I don't know that? You think I don't hate myself every day that he has to suffer being here? You think I'm happy about this? That I don't want something better for him? I'm going to lose him Harvey. I'm going to have my world and my heart ripped right from my hands. All because I'm a failure and a piece of shit of father. So I don't need you to tell me how worthless I am. I already know." Mike said with a hushed anger and Harvey was instantly thrown by Mike's words.

He didn't mean anything by his observation and he was just using it as a way to find out more from Mike, but obviously that was not the way to go about it. Harvey instantly dropped the games and tip toeing around.

"First of all, I never want to hear you talk about yourself that way ever again. You are not worthless and you are not a failure. Parents struggle every single day to support and take care of their child. They fight every single day to keep them alive and they go without so their child can have what they need to survive. That doesn't make you a piece of shit father. You're here trying your hardest to give him what he needs and feeling loved. Piece of shit fathers don't hold that much self-hate as you do. Second of all, I didn't mean for it to sound like that. I'm sorry. I didn't think you would appreciate it if I just came right out and said what I was thinking obviously that was my mistake. So let me try this again. Why the fuck is it so cold in here?" Harvey asked keeping his voice a whisper, but also keeping it calm and gentle so Mike knew he wasn't judging him.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have snapped like that. It's just been a hard time recently and it's been a shitty day. You didn't deserve that." Mike said as he turned his eyes down to the floor.

"We all have bad days Mike. I'm not going to bite your head off for it. Clearly you've been more stressed than I knew about. What's going on Mike, talk to me. What's going on with your heat? Why are there candles lit?" Harvey asked trying to get Mike to open up to him.

Mike let out a sigh at the questions. He knew if it was anyone else he would think they were taking pity on him or trying to judge him, but Harvey was a straight shooter. He also didn't do the whole pity thing. If Harvey asked it was because he genuinely wanted to know.

"The heat broke again a couple of days ago. The landlord hasn't gotten around to having it fixed. Meaning it's too expensive right now and he's waiting for a cheaper rate. As for the candles my electricity got cut off. I haven't been able to afford it for the last three months. It got shut off yesterday. I just… I don't know what to do anymore." Mike said as he ran his hand through his hair and Harvey could hear the stress in his voice.

"What you do is simple. You pack a bag for you and Jacob and you're coming to stay with me for a few days." Harvey said like it was the most simpliest thing in the world.

"I can't do that to you Harvey. He's a five year old little boy. You want him running around you multi-million dollar condo?" Mike said like he believed Harvey had no idea what could happen.

"I've had kids there before and I would rather risk having something broken than having you both here for the weekend in the dark and freezing to death. Mike, you said you don't know what to do anymore. Then we figure it out, but we don't have to do that while being in the dark and cold. Mike, you are sick being here will make that worse. He's sleeping under three blankets with gloves on. You know you can't stay here. I'm offering for you to stay with me and we'll figure the rest out. You know I'm right." Harvey said gently. He didn't want to order Mike to do it as he knew it would go a lot smoother if Mike just agreed.

Mike looked over at the bed and he felt his heart break seeing his son buried under all of those blankets just to stay warm. Mike knew what Harvey was saying was right, but it was just so hard to give in and accept help. The problem was though if he didn't, he was going to lose his son and for good. If there was one person you wanted in your corner it was Harvey Specter. Mike gave a nod before he spoke.

"Thanks Harvey."

"Don't worry about it Mike. Grab what you need and we can get out of here." Harvey said with understanding in his voice.

Mike ran a hand through his hair and went around and grabbed what he needed for the weekend including all of his paperwork that he knew Harvey would want to see. He also grabbed a bag for Jacob and what he would need for the weekend. He grabbed some clothes, books and his homework that would be due on Monday. Once he had the bags ready Harvey grabbed them from Mike and Mike went to pick up his sleeping son. Jacob woke up slightly at being moved to Mike's shoulder.

"It's okay we're just going for a car ride to a friend's place. It's okay keep sleeping." Mike said as he ran a soothing hand up and down Jacob's back.

They headed out of the apartment and down to Harvey's car. Mike got Jacob strapped in and Harvey put the bags into the back seat. Once they were all set Harvey took off for his condo. They didn't talk on the drive over. Harvey was fine with that as he didn't want to wake up Jacob. He continued to look in his rear view mirror to make sure that Jacob was still asleep and alright. Harvey knew that more was going on with Mike than he was letting on. He also knew that he would be getting everything out of Mike tonight so then come tomorrow he would be able to start figuring out how to help him. They arrived at Harvey's condo and Harvey went to park his car in his space in the underground lot. Once the car was turned off Mike went to grab Jacob while Harvey grabbed the two bags. Jacob stirred again, but settled down on Mike's shoulder as they headed inside. They got into Harvey's private elevator and Harvey could now see the bruise on Jacob's eye. He could instantly feel rage in him at the sight. He normally wasn't bothered by something like this that much, especially with a child he doesn't know. Yet for some reason he wanted to know just who did that to him and how he could make them pay.

"Who hit him?" Harvey asked with a harsh whisper.

"Kids at school." Mike whispered back and Harvey could hear the hurt in his voice. It was something Harvey would be asking about later when they were alone.

When they arrived at Harvey's condo Harvey led Mike down to where the guest bedroom was.

"Get him settled in. I'll wait for you in the living room." Harvey whispered as he put the bags down on the floor.

Harvey headed down the hallway to his bedroom to get changed while Mike went into the guest room and instantly felt the heat within the room. There was a King size bed in the room with fluffy pillows and a thick blanket. Mike went over to the bed and pulled back the covers and placed Jacob down on the bed. He went over to his bag and pulled out his real pajamas, as his sweats would be too hot for him now. Mike quickly got him change and he was thankful that Jacob only moved around slightly, but stayed sleeping. The benefits of being a small child. Once Mike got him changed and removed the gloves he pulled the covers over Jacob and gave his son a kiss on the forehead. Mike went over to his bag and pulled out some sweat pants and a long sleeved shirt to cover the bandage around his left wrist. Once he was changed he grabbed the paperwork and headed out of the room. Mike made sure the door was halfway closed so Jacob wouldn't hear them talking and he would be able to hear if something was wrong. Mike headed down the hallway and back into the living room. He saw Harvey sitting on the couch with two glasses of scotch on the glass coffee table. Mike sat down on the other end of the couch and picked up the glass as he placed the file down on the coffee table.

"What happened to your hand?" Harvey asked first.

"Oh it's nothing." Mike said with a small shrug.

"You don't bandage your hand for nothing. Are we really going to do this? Me having to drag the answers out of you?" Harvey asked not looking to take an hour conversation and turning it into a three hour conversation. Harvey had no problem talking for three hours if that is what it took, but he's rather not fight Mike for answers and information to every question he asked.

"Sorry. I've been on my own for so long I just got used to handling everything myself. I was making coffee this morning with this battery operated hot plate. Jake had already been taken to school thankfully. I was pouring it into my mug when I closed my eyes for a second and next thing I know it was all over my hand. It's a second degree burn. Its fine it almost doesn't hurt anymore and come morning it won't hurt at all."

"Fuck Mike. I had no idea you were this stressed out." Harvey said feeling guilty that he didn't notice the level of stress Mike was under.

"You have no idea." Mike said softly.

"Talk to me Mike. What happened? Where is Jacob's mother?" Harvey asked looking to know the story.

Mike let out a sigh and took a drink from the glass before he spoke.

"Six years ago, after I had been kicked out of College and lost everything because I decided to save Trevor's ass. He decided to make it up to me by taking me out to this party. He said I needed a night to be free and relax. I told him I didn't really want to, because the place was known for heavy drug use and drinking. Don't get me wrong I get drunk and obviously you know I used to get stoned, but I don't do it in a public place. I don't like being in a crowd full of drunk or stoned idiots. Especially after getting kicked out of school and fucking up my whole future. He swore he would stay by me and that he wouldn't go off chasing some tail. He bugged me for an hour about it and finally I just said fuck it and went. The first couple of hours everything was fine. I stayed with Trevor as he talked to people he knew, which seemed like everyone. I found out later that he was making connections for his new pot selling business adventure. After two hours I was ready to run out of there, but I felt bad if I left Trevor there alone. A couple of fights had already broken out and I didn't want to leave him there alone in case something happened and he needed help. After I got back from the bathroom the place had quieted down a lot from the majority of people passed out or left after the fights. I couldn't find Trevor anywhere though. I went into the kitchen and saw this girl there sitting on a stool. She had blonde hair, blue eyes, this small five foot five, a hundred pound girl. She would have been attractive if it wasn't for the fact that she had track marks all up both arms and she was clearly half stoned.

I asked her if she knew where Trevor went and she said that he went to talk to some guys. That he asked her to hang out with me until he was done and we could leave. I was not happy about it, but again I couldn't just leave him there. I should have though. She told me to relax and just sit down and have a drink. I told her that I just wanted to wait for Trevor and head home. She got up and made me a drink. I didn't pay attention, because I thought it was for her. She put the drink down in from of me and she sat back down with her own drink. She started to ask me all these questions about what I do for work or in school. For ten minutes I just stood there answering her questions, or lying technically. After ten minutes I didn't even think, I picked up the drink and drank it. I hadn't drank much that night. I really didn't want to be there. I only had two plus that one. Five minutes later though I was feeling really weird and dizzy. Everything started to get fuzzy and just really weird. I knew something wasn't right.

I started to walk towards the door, but I kept stumbling and hitting the wall. She came over and placed her hand on my arm and laughed. Told me I was a light weight and needed to learn how to hold my booze better. I tried to get my arm free, but she had a good grip or at least it seemed like she did. I couldn't really move very well. I didn't know what was going on and then I heard Trevor's voice. I remember thinking that everything would be fine, that Trevor would get me out of there. Trevor came over to me and he laughed. Said he was gone for a little while and I had gotten shit faced. The girl told him that she was just getting me upstairs to sleep it off. I tried to tell Trevor that I needed to go home, but it just came out this mumbled mess of words. Trevor laughed again and put one of my arms around his shoulders and started getting me up the stairs. He reeked of pot. I knew he was drunk and beyond high, that he probably wouldn't even remember any of that the next day. I could barely walk. He put me down on an empty bed and she said that she would take good care of me. He laughed again and said that he knew she would and then he left. He closed the door and left me in there with her." Mike said with complete pain in his voice.

"Mike." Harvey said softly and Mike could hear the shock in his voice mixed with anger and hurt for Mike.

"At the time everything was fuzzy. I couldn't really remember what was happening at the time. It was all blurry and it felt like my mind and body were detached. I knew I had been roofied. The second I felt it I knew. I remember hearing a zipper being lowered. Her laughing and telling me that she said I needed to loosen up. When I woke up the next day I felt like shit. Like I had spent a week getting drunk and stoned for the whole time. We were in bed still, both of us were naked. I grabbed my clothes and got out of there as fast as I could. I didn't even bother looking for Trevor. I just had to get out of there. I didn't remember until I got home and in the shower. It all came back in these flashes. I didn't tell anyone. I didn't go to the police. They would have just laughed at me. I didn't even learn her name until eight months later."

"You didn't even tell Trevor?" Harvey asked with anger in his voice towards Trevor for once again proving what a piece of shit friend he was.

"No. He didn't even remember it happening. He didn't remember half the night. I just kept it quiet and got high a lot. Trevor always had a good stock of it from dealing. I didn't go to any parties after that no matter what Trevor said or how pissed he got. I didn't handle it well. I pretty much spent eight months getting drunk and high. Then I got a call from this doctor in the hospital. Dr. Roth, he told me I had to come down to speak to him about a very important matter. I thought it was about my Grammy, but he said it was regarding another matter. No matter how many times I asked he wouldn't tell me so I went down."

"Jacob." Harvey stated easily.

"Ya. A garbage man found him in a dumpster. He wasn't in a bag or wrapped in a blanket. He was just tossed in with the rest of the trash. He was born at eight months, so he was early. Best they could tell he was born twelve hours before they found him. He was sick and his body temperature was really low. It was just before winter so it was getting cold out, even for an adult it was cold out. He was three pounds and five ounces. They had him in the incubator in the NICU. He had traces of heroin in his system. He spent six weeks in the NICU before he was finally healthy enough to leave. They ran his DNA immediately to find out who his parents were. That's how they found me and her, Melissa Wilson. A police officer was going to pick her up. I got drilled by the Doctor, a social worker and a detective about him. I told them that it was a one night stand and I had no idea her name let alone that she was pregnant. They knew I was hungover though and that didn't help me at all."

"But you got him. They let you take him home with you." Harvey said.

"Ya, but it was not just like that. When Melissa's family found out about the baby she lied to them. Said I roofied her and raped her. That when she found out she was pregnant it was too late to terminate and she panicked. Her parents are rich like you rich. They made a huge donation to the hospital and police station that year to let them forget about the potential charges that would be coming her way. I got to deal with the police and them basically calling me a rapist. I told them that she was the one that drugged me and if they wanted proof they could take a sample of my hair for a test to prove that I was the one with the drugs in me eight months ago and not her. They dropped it. But then it became the fight for Jacob. They wouldn't let me see him unless it was through the glass of the NICU. They wouldn't let anyone see him, because they didn't know who to trust with him. I saw him that first hour and after that I sat down with the social worker, Jennifer Miller, and asked what I needed to do to make sure I could take him home. She said I had to pass three drug tests, take a parenting class, have my own apartment and a job or income. I told her I would do whatever it took to be able to bring him home. I enrolled in the parenting classes and flew through them. I stopped smoking and drinking. I found the place that I'm living in now. It was in better condition six years ago and all I could afford. I worked as a virtual secretary so I could be at home and still make money. I wasn't making too much, but it was enough to cover the bills and be able to purchase what he needed like a crib and clothes. I kept visiting him as much as I could and for as long as I could. Melissa's parents had also been working on getting everything on their end ready for Jacob. At six weeks when it was time that he could be released Jennifer decided that it would be better to have Jacob with me instead of with Melissa's parents. I was shocked I didn't think I would win him. They are beyond rich and have this huge house and had Nannies lined up to be there full-time for him. But Melissa would be living with them and she was still refusing to take the drug tests or get sober. So I got to take him home."

"For how long?" Harvey asked knowing that there was more to this story.

"Three months then the reports started coming in. Melissa's parents started to make accusations about me. Stating that I was neglecting Jacob, that he didn't have what he needed. CPS was still involved and still randomly drug testing me so they knew it wasn't true. They let it go. Three more months went by and CPS closed the case on me. Three months after that more accusations came and with it a court case. They were suing me for full custody. CPS got back involved, unfortunately I had just lost my job. Melissa's father, Patrick, called my boss and said I was a rapist and she fired me. The next day I was getting the court case dropped on me. They took Jacob because I had no work and they were looking into the accusations of abuse and neglect. They placed in him in foster care. They didn't want to put him with her parents, because again they couldn't trust her around him. The foster home kept him until the court case was over. He was gone from me for six months. I won the case, because Melissa didn't pass her drug test and her parents didn't kick her out and were refusing to get a TRO against her. I couldn't even see him on his first birthday. I got him back when he was fourteen months. And that lasted until he was twenty months before another order from the court came. They wanted Melissa to have visiting rights. I knew what they were doing. They wanted to try and work her way in after being denied twice to completely have him. They showed up with these three lawyers in fancy suits from top law firms. Melissa showed up in this proper suit with her hair pulled back. Going on and on about how she was three months sober and had taken parenting classes. That she was seeing a therapist about her postpartum and her rape that lead to her breakdown. Played it perfectly for the female judge that only saw me as this rapist. She granted Melissa joint custody. Complete fifty-fifty. Two weeks with me and then two weeks with them starting right away. I had to stand there in court while they took my son away and off to this place that he's never been with strangers. For two weeks." Mike said with a pained voice.

"How long did that last?"

"Two months before they claimed that I was abusing him. He had bruising on him from her, but she lied and said that I was hurting Jacob. I lost my custody rights and they got full temporary care. I had to fight in court against the accusations and I couldn't see him the whole time. I missed his second birthday. I spent everything I had in court fees and I had to hire a lawyer because they had an army of them. Just before his third birthday, over a year in court, Melissa couldn't hold on any longer. She overdosed and our CPS worker found out that she had been using the whole time. Jacob was still getting bruising and being neglected by her. Her parents thought she was taking care of him, but she wasn't and they didn't pay close enough attention to him. I was awarded full custody again. Since then it's been one battle after the next. When we first met they had him again. She was granted visitation rights just after his fourth birthday. One day they refused to hand him over. Their lawyers said they didn't have to due to grandparent rights. If they felt he wasn't being looked after properly they could keep him. At the time Granny was getting sicker and sicker and she had to be placed in her long term care facility. Money was running low and I could barely afford to keep him clothed and fed. The only reason I was able to get him back was because I got hired by you. The court date was two weeks after you hired me and they saw that I was an Associate at one of the top law firms. They figured the money issues would be taken care of and I could provide him with a stable home once again. But now it's happening all over again."

"They filed something else against you?" Harvey asked. He couldn't believe Mike had struggled so much in court against these people. He knew that they were the grandparents, but he also knew that they weren't doing it because they wanted Jacob. They were doing it because they didn't want Mike to have him. They believed Mike to be the bad guy and not their own daughter. Court though was something Harvey could help with. It was something that Harvey could win, even family court.

Mike picked up the file and handed Harvey the court papers.

"These came to me yesterday. They want full custody, for me to terminate my parental rights and a restraining order so I can't even be around Jacob. This time it's just her parents on it and not her. Apparently they have filed a restraining order against her and have kicked her out. They state that I am an unfit parent due to lack of food, clothing, bad area, Jacob being hurt in school, my long hours and unpaid bills. It states that evidence was provided by a private detective stating that I can't afford to keep Jacob and support his needs. They have twelve lawyers now all from Yale, top of their class. I'm screwed this time, because I can't afford to hire a lawyer and there have been too many accusations and too many court battles. It all looks bad on me that I keep getting him taken from me. It doesn't matter that I get him back, all the court will see is how many complaints have been made against me and how many times he's been removed from my care. On top of all of that it's true. I can't afford to give him what he needs. My Grammy's care has gone up another two grand a month because she needed to be placed on new medication for her heart. I'm making a salary of seven grand a month, but I can't even afford to buy food. Rent in that place is a grand and my Grammy's care facility bill each month now is fifty-seven hundred dollars. At the end of it all I have three hundred to use for electricity and food. I can't afford to send him on field trips or be in clubs. I can barely afford to have my babysitter who is sixteen to watch him. I'm going to lose him and there isn't a judge in this state that would give him back to me."

"You're not going to lose him Mike." Harvey said with determination in his voice.

"I don't want to lose him. I don't want to have to let him go, but then on nights like this I can't help but wonder if I am a bad father. That if I am being selfish keeping him in that apartment and in that school. To go each day not knowing if he will be able to eat three times a day or if he'll get sick because we have no heat. They could give him a life that I could never give him. He would go to the best schools, and live in a huge house with a big room. He'll never go hungry or be cold. He'd have everything he'd ever want. Maybe I'm being the bad parent by keeping him and not letting him go to be happy." Mike said with tears in his eyes.

"Mike listen to me, having money doesn't make you magically have a better life. I grew up with my parents fighting all the time. We had a nice average house and my dad worked hard to support us all. My younger brother, Marcus, we got to go on field trips sometimes, but sometimes my parents couldn't afford it. We didn't hate them for that, we understood and we didn't care, because we knew that they loved us with all their hearts. We didn't go to the best schools or live in the best area. I worked in the mailroom at Pearson Hardman until Jessica gave me a shot at being something more. Now I'm a top lawyer and Marcus, he's a doctor living in Florida with his wife and two kids. Them having money means nothing in the way of loving a child. Jacob is your son. You have fought for him the moment you knew he even existed. You were raped, whether you want to call it that or not, you were raped by her. You had every right to walk away that very second you found out you had a son. Most would have. But you chose to stay and fight for him. You chose to raise him and not blame him.

You've been doing this whole thing on your own and taking care of your sick Grandmother all with nothing but a high school education. You've been doing this all alone Mike and I know there have been many times over the last five years that you have gone without food so he could eat. That you have gone without sleep so you can work longer hours and try to make more money. You are not the bad parent here. If they truly cared about Jacob they should have been helping you financially with him instead of running your name through the mud at every chance they got. This isn't a fight that you can throw the towel in. I can't let you. And I can't let you do this all alone anymore. I won't."

"It's my fight." Mike said automatically as he was so used to doing everything on his own.

"That's where you're wrong. It's my fight too. You are family to me. That makes that little boy family to me and I'm not going to let anyone take him away. You say you don't have a lawyer, you got a whole firm full of them. They're gonna need more than twelve lawyers by the time I am done with them. You can't do this on your own Mike you need to let your family help you. I'm your family, Donna is, Jessica is, hell even Louis is. Any one of us would stand there in court and fight for you and Jacob. You might not have their money, but you love that boy more than anything in the world and that was made clear in each and every court hearing. It's why you have always gotten him back. You can't stop fighting now, not when you have your own army standing right beside you." Harvey said with strength in his voice.

"I just don't know what to do anymore. Grammy's care is only going to get higher until she passes away. The apartment is getting worse each week. Jacob sleeps on the bed and I'll sleep on the couch for a few hours. Every month the bills are piling up and I'm working a hundred hour weeks at the firm just to get all my work done and what I don't get finished I take it home and work all night there. I need to move, but I can't afford anything in a better area or nicer right now. I don't know what to do and it feels like I can't breathe half the time from the stress." Mike said with frustration in his voice as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Mike, single parents struggle every single day. The only difference is they have friends and family there to help them. You've been doing this all on your own. You don't have to anymore. We can figure this all out. I know you probably don't want to do this, but you should tell Louis. If anyone can figure out a way to get more money from what you already make it would be him. As much of an asshole that he is, when it comes to kids he's a softie. He'd do anything to help them and he would help you with this. He might know some tricks to help you lower your costs."

"Ya, too bad Louis hates me." Mike grumbled.

"He doesn't hate you. He's pissed at me for making Senior Partner before him, because he made Junior Partner before me. He's getting to me by taking it out on you. But that is about work and this, this is about the life of a little boy, your little boy. That's personal and he'll fight to the death when it comes to personal. If I was in your position I would be going to him for some financial magic."

"I don't know. I'll think about it. I'll do anything to keep him don't get me wrong, I just don't want to hear any shit about me having a kid when I shouldn't." Mike said sadly.

"He would never say that to you. He'll be shocked, but he'll get over it and he wouldn't bring it up around others. Whether you tell Louis or not is up to you. Jessica does need to know because of the court case. She should be kept in the loop and trust me if there is one person you want on your side it's Jessica. Between me and her these lawyers won't know what hit em." Harvey said with a confident smirk.

Mike let out a small sigh before he spoke. "I figured she would need to know. Are you sure she won't fire me?" Mike asked slightly worried about it.

"She can't fire you for having a kid. Jessica has a big heart. She doesn't always show it because she's had to put up with a lot for being a black female in power. She had to make sure she kept her emotions in check, but she's not cold. She loves kids and wants to see them with their families and in a good place. Despite what you think she does like you. She just hates the risk of you being in the firm."

"I get that. I'm guessing you're gonna tell Donna then eh?" Mike said with a small smirk.

"Are you nuts? I can't keep this from her. I'm shocked you've been able to for this long. If I keep this a secret she'll poison my coffee." Harvey said with a smile.

Mike couldn't help the smile back. The thought of Donna finding out didn't bother him. He knew she would be completely supportive and great with Jacob. He was worried about Jessica and he didn't know what he thought about Louis. But so far having finally told someone about the stress and the past five years felt really good. It felt like that weight was easier to carry now.

"Thanks Harvey. Not just for letting us crash here, but for listening. Just knowing that you know, it feels like I can breathe a little easier now. It's not so heavy anymore."

"There's nothing to thank me for Mike. I wish you would have told me sooner. I would have helped you. We can meet with Jessica on Monday and figure out a game plan. For now though, tell me about Jacob. What's he like? Why is he getting black eyes from school?" Harvey asked genuinely interested.

Mike sat back and smiled at just the thought of his son and being able to talk about him with someone that actually was interested and cared. He told his Grammy about Jacob, but that was different. That was biological. Mike didn't have a friend that he could just sit down and talk about Jacob with. Mike didn't realise until this moment how much he had wanted that and needed it.

"I call him Jake, he prefers it. And he's amazing. His birthday is November twentieth. He has an eidetic memory like me and he also reads faster like I do. He's in grade three right now, though he could be in a higher grade. He's reading at a grade eight level and he is doing work that a normal eighth grader does. He gets bullied by the other kids, not just the ones in his class but other older kids too. Everyone knows that he's the kid with the freak brain. He's five sitting in a class with nine year olds and being able to do the work of twelve year olds. The school won't let him move up any more grades. So he'll have to suffer through it until he graduates from elementary and can go into high school in five years."

"He's got to be bored." Harvey said thinking about how Mike would be in that situation.

"He's very bored and because he's bored he'll act up in class. He also has High Functioning Autism, at least that's what they say it is this time around. The doctors can't seem to decide if it is HFA or Asperger's Syndrome."

"Ok stop right there. I don't know what either of those are. I know what Autism is, but what is high functioning?" Harvey asked looking to get a complete understanding on the situation. This wasn't going to be a kid that came in for a case and was gone. This was Mike's son, he was going to be around him for life.

"Right so HFA and AS are pretty similar in a lot of ways. Jake has trouble with social situations. He doesn't understand sarcasm, rhetorical questions; social queues on when a conversation is over or when someone is upset. He doesn't understand emotions and how to read them on people. The banter you and I have, that give and take type of conversation he doesn't understand or even register in his mind. Children want to be able to connect to other people, but they just don't know how. Their mind has to work harder on making that connection. Motor skills are not what they should be so playing sports or anything with hand eye coordination don't go over well. The major difference between the two is speech. Typically when a child has HFA they start late on talking and it takes a lot of work with a speech therapist to get them at the right level where you could even understand them. AS doesn't have that issue. Jacob didn't start talking until he was twenty months. He didn't say his first word until then."

"So he's HFA." Harvey said.

"Typically yes, but he was born at eight months and addicted to heroin. That brought it's own problems and the doctors can't say for certain that being born premature and addicted didn't cause his slow speech growth. It depends on which doctor I take him to and ask and they all have their own opinions. Some say his premature birth is what gave him the autism. Some say it gave him a slow speech growth and he has AS. It's a mess and it's hard to give him everything he needs without a set diagnosis. He talks pretty good right now. He's not perfect he has trouble with certain letters like R's and S's. He gets words mixed up when he talks, but if he wrote it down it would be perfect. He reads a lot so he knows a lot of words that are way above his age range and he understands what they mean and how to use them. It's just there's a slow link between his brain and his mouth. That is where speech therapy is supposed to help him, but he doesn't get it enough. He only sees a speech therapist through his school one hour a week. It's not enough, but it's expensive outside of the free programs."

"Have you taken him to a specialist that focuses on diagnosing children with AS or HFA?"

"Not yet. He's been on a waiting list for four years now. They have to do so many free cases every year. It's a long list and he's still realistically four years away from getting in to see one. I've tried saving up for it, but they charge a grand an hour and they say it takes at least five hours to do a proper diagnosis. He has other health problems to go with it, from being born early and addicted. He has asthma and an inhaler he has to take everywhere with him, because an attack can come out of nowhere. His teeth grew in all crooked and damaged. They are all dying and he doesn't have a second set, it never got the chance to be made. Every dentist I take him to they all say the same thing, to have them all pulled and have ceramics surgically implanted into his gums so they won't fall out or get damaged. He's too young to have any other option."

"That would costs a lot of money to do." Harvey said with understanding in his voice.

"Fifty thousand dollars. You know it pisses me off, because here's this five year old little boy just struggling every single day in school because of all of this. All this shit that is completely out of his control. That was decided before he was even born because of his horrible bitch of a mother. And no one will help us. The dentists all say that they can't afford to do that type of work for free. Any type of charity or grant programs to help him get new teeth or speech therapy or properly diagnosed all say he doesn't count because of his grandparents being rich. That I should be able to go to them to get the money that he needs. Same as when I tried to get him a scholarship to a private school so he wouldn't be bored in class and he could be around a better group of kids. I just get denied because of his grandparents even though they don't help out at all. And that is something else that pisses me off. Their daughter raped me. I got a sick child dropped on me and all they do is try to take him from me only to give him back to her and is blind to the fact that she was abusing him. They have all this money and swear up and down in court that they want the best for him. Yet where are they and their money? Why didn't they get him into the dentist to have his teeth fixed? Why didn't they get him in to see a therapist or a speech therapist or into a support group with other kids like him? He needs support and help, more so than I can give him and everyone just basically says fuck you to him again and again." Mike ranted pissed off and finally letting it out for the first time in five years.

"You have every right to be pissed. I'm pissed and I just met him. They should be helping you. They should have been ordered to pay child support on behalf of their daughter. A judge could have ordered that and they wouldn't have any reason to go against it if they truly did want what was best for him. I meant what I said Mike, you're not alone anymore. We can figure out a way to make sure he gets what he needs. Jessica and I have a lot of connections we can make sure he gets the help he needs. And I am going to make sure that those two pay out of their ass for all of this stress they have caused you. What does he like to do? What does he like to read?"

"He'll read anything. Textbooks, novels, my law books. If it has words he'll read it. With his HFA or AS, he does ramble a lot on something that he finds interesting, but with his mind he finds everything interesting. He'll talk for an hour about traffic patterns in New York because he read reports on it at the library. It's a problem in school, because he doesn't know when to stop talking. A lot of the kids think he's showing off how smart he is when he's actually just sharing what he thinks is interesting and he doesn't understand why no one else does. It's part of the social ques that he doesn't pick up on. He gets bullied a lot because of it all and because of his teeth. He refuses to smile now. The school is a joke so are the parents. I've been down there to talk to the principal almost every week because of it, but they just say that he should know better by now. That he should learn to fight back or learn when to walk away. The other kids in the class won't back up his story of not starting the fights. He's just another problem kid to them. And I get it you know. He does act out in class and he doesn't know when to stop talking so he unintentionally makes a situation worse. But he's so bored and under stimulated he acts out."

"It's natural for him to act out. He has special needs and his needs are not being taken care of properly in that school. He needs a new school, one that will work with him and not against him."

"Not that easy. The best place for him would be a private school. They all have a zero bullying policy and tolerance. They have their own top of the line speech therapist and behaviour groups. But I can't get him into one without a scholarship and because of his grandparents no one will give him one. It's not even his needs, he's a genius. His test scores are like what mine were, he tests out and off the charts. I know how he feels to be the smart kid in the room bored to death and just counting down the minutes. I didn't want that life for him. I wanted him to love school and instead he cries every morning when he has to leave for it."

"Making you feel like shit every morning." Harvey stated.

"Yup. I try to make the weekends really good for him. We go to the free museums and I take him to the parks. I used to take him to the zoo. He loves the zoo. He'll spend all day walking around seeing the different animals. The aquarium is his favorite spot. He'll stand there for hours just taking pictures of the different fish and plants. He has a few scrap books where he names all of the pictures and information on each fish and plant. We haven't been there in six months though. Just haven't had the time. He wants to go to the museum of Natural History again. I took him when he was four, but we haven't been back since. That was his favorite museum. I just haven't had the time with all the hours I'm working." Mike said feeling slightly guilty about it.

"You're a single parent working his ass off. It's not easy doing it with a spouse, you're doing it on your own. He might not understand it right now, but he will when he gets older. He'll see how much you've given up for him and he'll appreciate it."

"I hope so. I don't know what I would do if I lost him Harvey."

"You won't. I won't let it happen." Harvey said with determination in his voice.

"Thanks." Mike said with a small smile.

"It's what you do for family. We will figure this out and make sure Jake gets everything he needs. You're not alone anymore. It's late and you need sleep. You're sick, you need sleep to get better again. Everything won't seem so bad come morning."

"Ya." Mike said softly.

"Try not to worry. We'll figure it out Mike. Get some sleep, in a bed. You'll feel better later." Harvey said gently.

Mike rubbed his hands over his face before he stood up. Harvey did as well and brought the two glasses into the kitchen. They both headed down the hallway and into their own bedrooms. Mike walked into the room and saw that Jacob was still sound asleep in bed. Mike closed the door and got into bed on the other side. He laid down and was asleep within seconds of his head hitting the pillow.


	2. Follow Me- Update

Hello there!

I have begun a collection of new books for all ages from children's picture books to adult series that are being published online. You can connect with me and find out more information through my social media pages. I am working on finishing my novel called Satanic Inferno. It will be published through Kobo on March 1st, 2017. Check out my Facebook page for more information and a 10% discount code for the first few days of the release.

You have all followed me on Fanfiction and I am hoping you will continue to follow me now that I have transitioned into writing and publishing my own novels. But fear not I am still going to be working on Fanfiction and finishing all of my stories. I'm not going anywhere in that sense. All support would be greatly appreciated.

Thank-you so much to all of my loyal followers. Without you none of this would have been possible! If you have any questions or would like a sneak peek of my novel please Message me and I will send it your way.

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